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2000 onwards and upwards : 2000-present
By Nathan Jackson June 7 2006
This new Millennium has proved to be an emotional one with problems ranging from financial problems to palyers fighting each other, but there have also been some very good memories. City have played at the Millennium Stadium twice and more importantly, become financially stable for the first time in years.

2000/1 – After John Reames nearly ruined the club, Phil Stant almost took it back into the conference, despite his "Messiah" Complex. A miserable season saw the Imps enter March on the back of 5 straight defeats, Stant is sacked, Buckley is brought in, the Imps win their next 4 games and finish a relieving 18th. However, things off the pitch are going badly. Brighton, Chesterfield and Cardiff are automatically promoted, Blackpool via the playoffs. Barnet are relegated.

2001/2 - Both on and off the pitch, City almost get destroyed. City finished 22nd and if it hadn't been for Halifax's dreadful form, the Imps would have more than likely been the team relegated as Alan Buckley nearly drove the Imps into the conference. Off the pitch, the collaspe of ITV Digital near the end of the season, saw City become the first side to go into administration due to the collaspe and were within 24 hours of going bust. However, hard work from everyone at every level of the club, means the Imps do survive, however, with Alan Buckley and several other talented players let go, the Imps don't look to have a bright future in the League. Just for the record, Plymouth, Luton and Mansfield are promoted automatically, Cheltenham via the playoffs.

2002-3 - Keith Alexander, managed 9 years previously, had come to Sincil Bank as Alan Buckley's assistant, but with Buckley gone, Keith was given the job, however, the lack of funds meant the Keith's knowledge of non-league was put to the test as Simon Yeo, Simon Weaver, Ben Futcher, Scott Willis, and Dene Cropper were all brought in during the pre-season and the Imps were placed as favourite for relegation. However, City had a storming season and against all the odds, Keith Alexander's army of the non-league's finest, made it to the playoffs. City beat local rivals Scunthorpe 6-3 on aggregate in the semi finals, however, the final saw the Imps lose 5-2 to Bournemouth, however, no-one particully cared as the whole season was more than what the Imps could have hoped for and this will go down as one of the club's greatest achievements. Rushden and Diamonds, Hartlepool and Wrexham are all promoted automatically, Shrewsbury and Exeter are relegated.

2003-4 - City are again tipped to do badly, however, after a slow start, the Imps again prove the critics wrong and make the playoffs again. However, this time the Imps lose 4-3 on aggregate in thes semis to Huddersfield, who went on to win the playoffs, they joined automatically promoted Doncaster, Hull and Torquay.

2004-5 - The Imps are tipped to do well and after another poor start, finish in the playoffs again. After getting past Macclesfield in the semis via a 2-1 aggregate score, City dominate the final, with Southend getting very few oppurtunities in, however the Essex club take the Imps' to extra time and the dominance of the Imps caused several players to be exhausted and Simon Yeo and Gary Taylor-Fletcher, the club's best two strikers, were both taken off and the Imps conceed just before extra time's half time. The game eventually finishes 2-0, a result the Southend definatly didn't deserve but it was City's own fault for not killing off a game that they could have won 5-0. Yeovil, Scunthorpe and Swansea are all automatically promoted. Kidderminster and Cambridge are relegated.

2005-6 - A new look Imps' side takes to the field for the first time after the departure of over half the regular first teamers. City get off to their best start under Keith Alexander, securing 5 points from the first 4 games but it quickly went sour as the Imps struggled early on. The attack were scoring plenty of goals but the defence might as well have not been there. A 4-1 defeat at Cheltenham changed the season and City would only lose once between November 19th and March 25th, a run the helped them make the playoffs for the 4th year in a row. However, the Imps lost 3-1 on aggregate to Grimsby Town in the playoffs and the Mariners lost the final to Cheltenham Town. Other than Cheltenhan, Carlisle, Northampton and Leyton Orient gained promotion whereas Oxford United and Rushden were relegated.

2006-7 - After Keith Alexander left the club in the summer, John Schofield was promoted to Head Coach and John Deehan came in from Northampton Town as Director of Football. A change in footballing style and personnel saw the Imps fare well at first. We were thrashing teams and even topped the table for 7 days in October. However, in true Lincoln City style, a downturn in form saw City have to settle for the playoffs yet again. This time we lost 7-4 on aggregate to Bristol Rovers. Walsall, Hartlepool and Swindon all went up automatically after being relegated 12 months earlier, Boston United and Torquay United were relegated.

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